The Inertial Properties of Pink and Blue
by KoshKing777
Summary: Nana's soul and hopes have slowly dissolved away after years of torture following her recapture by the Diclonius Research Institute. There is one person in her heart that she can find respite in from her constant pain: Kouta. Set six years after the anime


**A/N: **This fic is from Nana's POV, and is a continuation of the anime version of Elfen Lied. There is some NanaKouta, but no Lemons or citrus of any kind. Characters will be OOC, due to the passage of time between the anime's end and the start of this story. There are scenes of **graphic violence, explicit torture,** and themes of darkness and hopelessness, in line with the show.

As far as this pairing goes…obviously, if you have some huge aversion to it, you don't have to read it. But I'd like to point out that there are hints in the anime that Nana has at least a crush on Kouta. I'm just building off of that assumption here, and I hope to present it in a way that will make it engaging even if it's not a ship you would normally support.

This fiction is also assuming that Lucy really did die at the end of the anime.

**Disclaimer: **Naturally, I own nothing at all related to the Elfen Lied franchise.

* * *

**Elfen Lied**

**The Inertial Properties of Pink and Blue**

**Chapter 1**

_6 Years After Lucy's Death, Diclonius Research Institute_

I was jolted awake by a sudden lurch of my containment capsule. Apprehensively, I peered through the coral-colored chemical liquid my tank was filled with and watched the blast doors open. The conveyor belt carried me slowly out of the Diclonius storage lab and into my least favorite place in the entire world: the testing room.

Well…I guess it's my turn again to get pummeled open for the scientists' so-called experiments.

I hate this. I never minded this before, when my father observed it being done to me…because I loved him and I knew that my sacrifice was benefitting him.

There is no meaning to this depraved torture. My existence has become as lifeless and machine-like as this humming conveyor belt.

The sheer WHITE of the testing room burned my eyes, but I didn't flinch. Someone was talking over the intercom, but I neither could understand it through the walls of my capsule, nor cared about what they had to say.

The capsule shuddered into place at the end of its route, a section of the room painted bright red from years of constant splattering. Binding wires issued into my capsule and wound themselves tightly around my body. I used to struggle against them, but now simply allowed it to happen. My energy was better used in defense against the soulless scientists' various attempts to harm me.

The cables sufficiently restraining my ability to breathe, the capsule shot into the floor, spilling me and the chemicals out into the freezing white room.

Goosebumps covered me as I looked up at the control window, showing trepidation that I wished I could hide. I just felt so small and utterly unprotected, strapped to the wall awaiting whatever they wanted to throw at me. The worst part was this wait for them to start.

I decided to listen to their always-emotionally-removed conversing.

"Now as you have heard, General, we have developed a new weapon that has proved quite effective on the Diclonius." This voice belonged to a scientist that presided over many of my torture sessions; although he sounded business-like and professional to a point, I could always detect a deep streak of sadism in his tone. I could be biased, though, since I hate him.

"That's why I am here," a hard, soulless voice said.

"Indeed. Now, General, I believe you know of Number 7?" As he said this, I gave a sarcastic wink up to the viewing window.

"Yes."

"She is known to possess longer vectors than the average Diclonius."

"Yes."

"Well, she will be our test subject today."

"Great. I can't wait to see that bitch carved into pieces."

Ooh, that wasn't nice. No kisses for you, General.

"Indeed. First, observe the effect of typical artillery on Number Seven."

"…My time is valuable, Doctor. I already know the effects of typical artillery on a Diclonius."

"W-well, it will be brief demonstration, purely for comparative purposes." That's right, Dr. Scientist man! Stand up for yourself! Only then will you find the courage to seek out the right man to rape you.

The general sighed. "Carry on."

"Alright. Number Seven, prepare yourself for phase one."

I smiled up at him innocently.

"Ready…FIRE!"

As the scientist barked, several machine gun turrets folded out of the white walls and fired hundreds of bullets at me. I used two vectors to rapidly toss every bullet away, my mind clicking rapidly in time with each millisecond. Time seemed to slow down for me as I effortlessly swiped away each and every bullet. This was child's play.

I knew what to expect next.

As the turrets continued to fail at making contact with me, the entire room shuddered with the boom of a cannon, which the scientists designed to fire at supersonic speeds.

I brought my other two vectors down in a clean slice, cleaving through the cannonball with perfectly-symmetrical precision. The resulting pieces of the ball limply flew to either side of my body.

I anticipated the laser next, and I was right. The largest gun yet lowered out of the ceiling and fired a piercing laser beam at my head.

Somewhat boredly, I raised one vector and absorbed the light, successfully diluting the laser's intensity until it was quite harmless by the time it hit my face.

In the meantime, my other arms kept deflecting bullets and slicing cannonballs.

"…Wow…" I heard the general say. Apparently I had impressed him! I impressed someone! Aww…this is the happiest thing that's happened to me all year.

After a couple more seconds of barrage, the guns folded back into the white walls.

"What, is that it?" I couldn't help but taunt out loud. That was pathetic.

I heard a slide-and-lock sound from above me.

Oh, right. The spike guns.

They poured thousands of spikes down on me. But just like everything else, nothing could stop the vivid precision of my mind as I scooped vectorfuls of them safely out of the way.

All guns retracted now, and the scientist continued his little sucking-up session with the general.

"As you have just witnessed, no matter how much we fire simultaneously at the subject, she remains untouched."

"…Indeed."

"Now then," he continued as I heard two doors slide open on either side of my constricted body, "I present to you a new weapon; The Optryx Armor."

"I see."

I looked to either side and saw two men covered in armor walking towards me. They looked sort of like the Samurai that Kouta showed to me in books, years ago.

Kouta…I felt warmth and sadness at the thought of him.

The suits were glowing and humming, and I noticed the blades they carried seemed to have a power core in their center.

They were well within my vector range now, but I decided to wait and see what they had to offer before I made myself vulnerable.

Helpfully, the scientist continued his explanation. "The Optryx Armor and its equipment are constantly vibrating at an extraordinarily rapid rate."

Ooh, vibrations! I'm so scared.

I decided to go ahead and attack one of the armored men with all four of my vectors with full force. He stopped completely when they hit, but a loud buzz reverberated up my vectors all the way back into my brain, causing me to grunt in disorientation.

What the hell?

I slashed wildly again at the guy, as fast as I could, but as soon as the vectors reached him, they sort of disintegrated, not harming him at all.

"Is the subject attacking you, Major?" the scientist called down to the guy who was, indeed, under attack.

"I think so, sir; I've felt some small impacts since she started looking at me."

Some SMALL IMPACTS? I was attacking with all my strength and speed! That can't be right!

"Excellent," the scientist continued, pride in his voice. "You see, General, this facility has researched the nature of the Diclonius weapon known as vectors for quite some time. We determined that they all exist at the same frequency, and are in actuality a concentrated collection of abrasive vibrations in midair."

"Your point?" the general asked.

"Well, this armor constantly vibrates at a strong frequency in exact opposition to the vectors' rate, which causes the vector to instantly neutralize and dissipate on contact."

"…huh."

That is going to be annoying.

"I take it you need more convincing, General. Majors Yoshidiyama and Kendou, you are cleared to inflict Number Seven with nonlethal wounds using your Optryx Swords."

"Aye, sir," I heard the Majors say. They had pleasant voices, but I wondered if there was actually anything living under their armor. You have to be a certain kind of cruel to torture a completely innocent person purely on the fear of what they could do.

I don't intend to get slashed, though.

They walked robotically towards me. I silently counted to three and chucked a cannonball slice into the face of one of the guys.

He staggered backwards in surprise, but didn't seem damaged.

I started to get a little afraid now and launched more cannonball slices at the men, but to no avail. The armor seemed to be quite protective against high-speed attacks, as well as naked vectors.

The one on my right stepped up and slashed first. I brought up my vectors to block it, but met no success; the sword slashed right through and seared through my skin from my left shoulder down to my right hip.

"URAAARRGH!" I gasped in wild, unrelenting pain. It BURNED! My blood splashed out along with his blade and kept running out of the resulting tear across my body.

Why?...I don't think there's any reason for them to do this to me…

As I was still hissing from the first cut, I saw the other major raise his sword.

"Please…please don't…" I begged him, but he followed through with the slash regardless.

I closed my eyes and searched wildly for a pleasant memory, something to hold on to in order to ease the pain.

I remembered me, Yuka, and Manu gathered in Yuka's room back in Kaede House, having one of our many girl talk sessions.

The sword began to slice swiftly through my left breast. I cried out uncontrollably, wanting to die from the pain.

We would discuss what each of us would like to do on a date with Kouta…Yuka always just wanted to kiss him no matter what, Manu wanted to go get ice cream with him…

"NGGGAAAH!" I screamed as the heartless man continued carving through to my other breast. I could feel my very essence being violently destroyed.

I LOVED those sessions…I always wanted to go on adventures with him, to swim vast lakes, to go mountain biking…to experience extraordinary things with him; the most extraordinary person I'd ever met.

The sword, deep in my organs, slit open my nipple like it was nothing but a passing thought.

I used to laugh all the time back then, nearly uncontrollably, because I was so alien to that much happiness.

Hanging on to memories of my friends, I tried to ignore the spasmodic shuddering of my body from the displaced blood and organs. My eyes were now too watery to see anything.

"Excellent, Majors; you may now proceed with the demonstration we discussed earlier."

AUGH, there's MORE?

"Yes, sir."

I allowed my head to dangle down, trying not to look at my mutilated chest. Maybe I'll finally be allowed to die.

Kouta would be disappointed…

…but…I don't know if I'd even want him to see me like this, I feel so broken. All of my extremities are now either plastic or dangling by a few frail nerves and arteries.

I'm sorry, Kouta…

"As you can see, General, while we have yet to link the use of artillery with this technology, we also have a variety of other physical weapons with their own Optryx core. For instance, the needle…"

One of the guys pierced a needle through the brittle skin of my neck, ripping through to my throat. I gasped in pain, remembering the times that Kouta would look at me with something that seemed like more than just friendship…those were my very favorite moments.

"Or a bat…" The other major cracked a vibrating bat down, severely, into my already-splattered chest, causing me to gurgle in nightmarish, tortured pain.

I recalled one time Kouta cooked with me in the kitchen, soon after Lucy's death. He was curt and overcritical, and then suddenly broke down crying. I went over and held him as tightly as I could, and he looked at me with that immersing, addictive quality in his eyes.

"And the subject can even be knived with our Optryx knives," the scientist said in a voice that made me want to viciously murder him.

The cables that had wrapped around my legs and arms pivoted me around so that I was bent over at the hips, facing the wall. I gaped, blood running out of my mouth, as the men plunged knives deep into my lower back. I couldn't believe how ripped to shreds I felt. I was just a sopping mass of broken flesh.

Kouta…

I remembered him teaching me how to ride a bike.

I remembered us sleeping together in his bed when Yuka went out of town one night.

I grimaced, trying to hold down my vomit, since I thought it might destroy what was left of my throat, due to the vibrating needle that was still wedged in there.

My ears perked up, despite the insane throbbing from every inch of my crimson body…I heard the sound of a zipper opening.

He wasn't…they weren't possibly stupid enough to try and do THAT, were they?

I hung my head down below my shoulders to look down the length of my dripping body, and saw that he had, in fact, exposed his penis. Out of his armor.

I scowled, shaking from erupting nerves. What an…IDIOT! He thinks he can rape me?

I wordlessly thrust my vectors up through the new chink in his armor, pureeing his gonads to liquid immediately.

He ROARED out in desperate pain, a sound that was broadcast over the intercom, much to my satisfaction. I kept my vectors inside the armor, though, and, giving in to my rage, churned them upwards throughout his body, slicing like a spinning blender as I went.

His screams of horror and terror over the intercom escalated up to multiple unnatural octaves, but soon…all was silent. Apparently the scientist and his butt-buddy didn't have much to say about that, did they?

I reeled my vectors out of the major's liquefied body, a shower of red-and-yellow gore following my arms out of his crotch.

Quite satisfied, I closed my eyes and exhaled, still trying not to cry from my pain.

After quite a long period of silence, the remaining Major spoke on his intercom. "What should I do now, sir?" After a few seconds, he asked again. "Sir?"

"…slice the skin off Number Seven's back as punishment. We're done for the day. We'll give her medical attention afterwards."

"But sir…"

"Do it, NOW!" his voice ripped over the intercom.

I stared in fear at the floor, panting heavily. Was it the wrong choice to stop him from raping me? No…no, I suppose it wasn't…but I really CAN'T take anymore. I'm going to cry…

Without further hesitation, the Major began to use his vibrating sword to peel the skin off my back.

"NGGGG!" I gasped, my body contorting from pain.

Kouta…Kouta…PLEASE…please just stay in my mind a little longer…I need your strength!

"I'm sorry," the guy whispered, off his com. "I really didn't…didn't sign up for this."

The combination of everything just made me hang my head and start weeping uncontrollably. The more I tried to stop, the more I shuddered with thick sobs.

"I'm…sorry…" he said again as he carved the skin off my spine.

"KOUTA!" I gasped out loud on accident, trying to regain control over my mind despite my massive blood loss. Blood and tears obscured my vision.

"I'm so sorry, Number Seven…" the guy said.

I pressed my head against the wall. "I…I don't hold anything against you," I whispered. "Thanks for saying something. It makes me feel a little better."

"There's no excuse for this," he said as he peeled off the skin on the left half of my back.

* * *

Without realizing it, I fell completely unconscious and awoke back in my capsule some time later. I looked around and saw that I had returned to the Diclonius storage warehouse. I braced myself before looking down at what was left of my body and was absolutely shocked to realize that nearly all of my wounds had been stitched up and mostly healed.

How long was I OUT for?

I touched my stitched-up breasts delicately, but they reacted quite painfully even to my soft fingers. That was more or less encouraging news, though…while they were now slightly misshapen, it appeared that they had retained some degree of working nerves.

I was quite relieved, but was still a little reluctant to touch my back. Quite bizarrely, my back felt as if it had grown a super-soft, squishy carpet foam where my skin used to be. I hoped that this would one day harden into something that I could pass off as skin.

'I'm glad you're okay, Number 7,' another Diclonius spoke to my head. 'You've been treated with several kinds of chemicals in order to heal you.'

'What's the point of healing me if they're just going to slice me up again?' I thought back. 'Oh, and thanks.'

The "thoughtstream," as we called it, was our way of communicating with each other in the storage lab to keep ourselves from going completely insane. All fifteen of us had worked hard to craft a language based on our ability to detect emotions and desires from each other. The language consisted of multiple, purposeful fluctuations in emotion directed at another Diclonius.

I'd been in here for so long…I wondered if Kouta even remembered who I was…or if I was even the same person that he knew, now.

About a year after Lucy's death, I was ambushed by the military while doing Manu a favor and walking her dog. After fighting for a long, long time against them, they eventually pummeled me unconscious and reinserted me in this godforsaken place, where I've spent a long time doing absolutely nothing but waste my life.

Manu, Kouta, and Yuka…I wonder how they're doing? I hope they're alright…

A large web of thoughtstream was accumulating in another part of the warehouse, so I strained to open my mind and listen in on it.

"…Well I heard that he's just freed ANOTHER research lab's diclonius!"

"You mean a THIRD one?"

"RIGHT! I heard the scientists talking about that!"

"Apparently they're going to drastically increase security."

"That won't stop Kouta! He'll come for us next, for sure!"

"No, he won't! It's all a giant tall tale! Humans wouldn't possibly care enough about us to risk their lives like that!"

I tried to yell at them with my own thoughts. "KOUTA? What do you mean? What's he doing?" I wondered if it was my Kouta. Huh. Apparently someone was going around, freeing captive Diclonius, though, and that's always a good thing. And that did seem like something he might do; he's always been very selfless and passionate concerning Diclonius.

I blushed intensely from the thought of seeing Kouta soon…there was always a chance…I didn't necessarily want him to see me like this, but…it would feel just like heaven to be able to lay eyes on him again.

No one seemed to notice my thoughts, and they kept blabbing to each other.

"One day, at least, he'll come here! We're in the most well-known Diclonius facility in the world! He has to, if he calls himself a hero of the Diclonius!"

"I'm pretty sure he doesn't call himself that…he's too humble and selfless…"

"Bull. SHIT! No FUCKING human could ever do something selfless!"

"I've heard that Kouta is very, very handsome, and extremely caring…"

"And also tough! He is very powerful for a human!"

"He's the best! The perfect combination of rugged and sensitive!"

"Would you idiots just SHUT UP? I'm trying to sleep!"

"I wonder if he ever allows the girls he rescues to kiss him…"

"I would have his baby! There, I said it! IF he exists, I would happily mate with him."

I was blushing more by the second. It could be my Kouta or it might not be, but I allowed myself to daydream for a moment about him busting into the lab and saving me, saying he had been looking for me for years and years.

I giggled. It was selfish to think that way, but it also felt good. I certainly didn't believe it for a second; there's no way he probably even remembers me. He almost certainly left a much bigger impression on me than I on him; nearly the entire time we knew each other he was in deep mourning over Lucy.

I wonder if he'd even recognize me.

My capsule suddenly lurched forward again, and I yelped in surprise.

Damn it. I guess it's time to be a guinea pig again.

After about six minutes of excruciatingly slow capsule movement out into the great white room, I found myself once again staring up at the viewing window, wet and shivering.

"Good afternoon, Number Seven. We trust that you are feeling fully operational?" the scientist was female this time, but she possessed no more warmth than her heartless colleagues.

I nodded weakly.

"Thank you for lying, Number Seven." Huh? Was she trying to joke or something? "To start off today on the right foot, I'd like to lead you through some exercises. We will begin now."

"Okay then," I coughed, unable to stop shaking.

The cables around my body from my chest down slid away, but I was still quite immobile, my entire upper body secure against the bloodstained wall.

"Number Seven, the goal is for you to perform several vertical crunches, since this is the best way to successfully set your new back." Oh, so _that's_ why I was exercising. "Try and curl upwards so that your hips are level with your face."

DO WHAT? I'm not a contortionist!

"Well…I'll try," I said in a weak voice.

"What?"

"I'LL TRY!" I shouted.

"Okay, good. If you cannot perform ten crunches, you will be executed immediately."

How lovely.

I kicked off the wall and tried to swing my butt up to the sky.

"NNNGG!" I rolled my eyes up in concentration, focusing on clenching my abs as much as possible. I felt the "skin" on my back start to rip a little.

"A little higher, Number Seven," the scientist said.

Groaning, I put all my concentration into rising my butt a little more…and then a little more…and then…

"That's one. Release and do nine more."

I gasped for breath as I unclenched, my body flopping lifelessly back down to the wall.

Here we go again…you can do this, Nana.

I again heaved my butt upwards, trying to do my very best to point it completely vertically.

A distant boom echoed throughout the room, immediately after which, red lights turned on and began spinning.

I let my body collapse to the wall again in relief when a siren came on.

A message issued over the intercom: "Red alert! Red alert! This facility is under attack! All personnel need to evacuate through the south entrance with an armed escort immediately!"

The scientist lady apparently decided that I'd mooned her enough for today, because the cords untangled from my body and the capsule shot back up around me, encasing me once again. The conveyor belt seemed much more awake now, because it jerked me violently back into the storage lab.

As the doors closed behind me, other rumbles shook the building. The Diclonius were all thoughtstreaming simultaneously, so it was almost impossible to tell what they were trying to say.

I peered through the flashing red lights and saw a lone soldier in the room with us, looking at some supplies and the control panel. Typically NO ONE was allowed in here, and this was especially weird, since all personnel had been ordered to evacuate.

I announced with my thoughts as loudly as I could, "There's someone here with us! In this room! Check it out!"

The other girls seemed to acknowledge my thoughts with various assenting remarks, and the thoughtstreaming ceased. I watched him curiously, unwilling to get my hopes up.

After about fifteen seconds, I saw a green flash on the operation screen that the soldier was working on, after which my capsule broke in half, water splashing out as the top rose into the ceiling.

So there really was a vigilante helping out Diclonius! We're out!

Without even a pause to celebrate, I dove out of the crack in my capsule, like most of the other girls did.

"We're free!"

"You've saved us!"

I saw the soldier turn to us and take off his hat. I stared intently at his face.

He did indeed have rough navy hair, and a coarse beard of the same color. He did look fairly young (and sexy), and his cobalt eyes, while extraordinarily serious-looking, had vigorous inner warmth.

It really was Kouta. He looked a lot different, but it was him.

"Kouta," I breathed.

Some of the other girls squealed out his name and rushed in to hold him. I was too shocked to move, though…

I feel like I'm hallucinating, I was so sure that this could not happen. I don't want to talk to him…or let him know that I'm here…I'm unworthy to even know who he is, he's so much better than me…

It's like I've been ripped straight out of a nightmare and have been expected to immediately operate according to the normal rules of society. That's something that I certainly can't do, I'm in so much pain and shock. If I make just one misstep in my interactions with him, he'll surely never think of me as important to him. I have to make just a fantastic second impression on him! But I'm simply unable.

I don't know who I am, what I'm supposed to do with myself…I don't know anything important, really. I'm just as worthless as the rest of the people on this planet. Being forced to interact with my crush, like this, is simply impossible right now. I'll just have to pretend not to notice him…

Kouta started to speak over the tumult, but the spinning red lights abruptly turned to a vivid pink, and a new warning burst over the intercom. "The Diclonius have escaped! I repeat, the Diclonius have escaped!"

That's not good.

He made a growl in frustration. "I thought I prevented that!"

"It's alright…" one girl said.

"It's alright, Kouta!" a Diclonius assured him while hugging him.

WHY are they comforting HIM? We're trying to escape, here!

Kouta shook himself out of their grasp and signaled us over to the other side of the now-pink-lit room. "Follow me!" he said, "I've been undercover here for about a week, digging an escape route in the room next to this one."

"Good, thanks for that!" I heard one girl near the front of the crowd say. Number Twenty, I think. "I guess we don't need you anymore, then, HUMAN!"

"WHAT?" several girls hissed.

Kouta paused and looked at her with annoyance. Two other girls walked up next to her, in apparent show of their support for the idea of offing their rescuer.

"We DON'T have time to discuss this now," Kouta said.

"I agree," one said, looking at her wild-eyed partners. "Let's kill him!"

"NO!" I accidentally exclaimed, but my voice was lost among similar cries from the other girls around me, all of whom abruptly lashed out at the three anti-Kouta Diclonius with their vectors. In less than two seconds, all three girls had been reduced to rippling red puddles of former organs.

"Well…" Kouta looked down at the puddles with concern, "thanks, I…guess?" He looked back up at us with intensity in his beautiful eyes. "Alright, now we REALLY have to move!"

He ran and furiously ripped the sealed door off its hinges, revealing the room where he'd been secretly digging. Almost instantaneously, a turret began showering bullets down at us.

Kouta…be careful!

"Got it!" Number Fourteen shouted, rapidly destroying the turrets while deflecting the bullets with her other vectors.

I'm useless…Kouta probably won't ever even realize I'm among these girls…I'm too scared for him to see me…

"Awesome, thanks," he said, running over and clearing off some floor tiles, revealing a deep, black hole.

"There should be troops coming soon, with that alarm sounding like that," Number Fourteen continued, holding possessively onto Kouta's arm.

Damn it, get off him!

I sighed. I feel like crying again, my mind is such a mess.

"We should be mostly safe; I'm having a friend attack the North side of the compound, so most of their troops should be occupied there at the moment," Kouta said talking very quickly, "but better safe than sorry!" He nodded down to the hole. "This leads to a sewer. It's going to be pretty filthy, but it'll at least get us out of their detection. I can help each of you down, if you want."

"OH yes!"

"Yes please!" Numerous Diclonius said joyfully.

I just sighed and folded my arms around my mangled body. Now I HAVE to see him. What should I say? What can I do? I have to not mess up! AUGH, I can't think!

Kouta balanced himself quite impressively in midair over the pit, one foot in each side. "Come on, let's go."

"Alright…um…are you sure you won't fall?" Number Fourteen asked softly.

"I'm sure! You'll be safe. Come on!" Kouta said, a glimmer of warmth was in his voice, but it was only barely detectable. I guessed that he'd had some hard times since we'd been separate.

He grabbed each Diclonius quickly, but apparently gently, as they slid down to his level. I noticed that he took great pains to avoid touching their chests, so he at least was still very respectful of Diclonius' dignity.

I gulped and tried to shake away my continuing shudders of anxiety. My heart was beating faster than it ever had at one of the torture sessions! Some of the girls tried their best to press up against him, while others even kissed him! (He would always turn so they'd miss his lips though) Should I take that approach? Others just smiled wordlessly at him, or struck up a casual conversation.

Urgh…I'm so nervous I can't breathe!

I was the last of the twelve to get to him. He had just finished setting the eleventh gently down, and I knew that I'd have to make eye contact with him soon! Gah! No! I don't know if I can!

Okay, here goes…I'll just go with it, and see what happens!

I walked up to the hole, heart beating so loudly I couldn't even here the sirens anymore.

He looked up at me briefly before abruptly looking to the side.

OUCH! That hurts, Kouta! What was that for?

I clenched my teeth and slid my legs down into the hole. "H-h-hi," I said weakly.

He took a deep breath and turned back to me, his eyes completely devoid of ANY emotion whatsoever. "Hello Nana."

I felt heat wash over my face in bashfulness that he remembered my name. But was he mad at me or something?

"How are you?" I asked so softly that he might not have heard. He probably didn't, since he didn't reply.

Kouta put his hands firmly around me and pulled me close. I gulped at the powerful sensation of touching him. Here was the person whom I'd thought about for so many years while suffering alone. He has always been my strength in times of need. I've always thirsted so badly for him that a part of me had begun to suspect that he wasn't real at all.

Now his breath's on me, and I'm being clutched by him in a situation I thought impossible up until today…my heart's beating so fast that I think I might explode.

"Alright, I'm going to slide down with you, okay?" he said in an emotionless voice, but I was thrilled that he seemed to somewhat consider my feelings, anyway.

"Th-that's fine," I said, delicately wrapping my fingers around his back with shaking hands.

With a grunt, he pressed me much more tightly to him (I hissed a little at the pain this caused in my wounded breasts) and he pulled in his legs.

The two of us fell for a short distance (during which I desperately memorized the feeling of holding onto him) and we splashed into a river of orange-brown muck.

He stood up, his arm securely around my back. "Okay, we should be out of their sensors now," he told the other girls, who were looking at him with shining eyes of obvious hero worship. "But we're still on their island. Everyone remain on guard, and try to listen for approaching people."

"Alright!"

"Yes, we're FREE!"

"Kouta, do you want to have sex with me?"

"SHUT UP, Number Six!"

"Let's get going." Kouta seemed to mostly ignore their words and silently walked out in front of our group of twelve, leaving me without any further recognition of my existence.

I exhaled and put a hand on my heart to try and stop it from its endless freaking out. At least that first meeting was over. On the one hand, he remembers my name. On the other, he appears to think I'm less than tolerable company. Or thinks I'm ugly. Or hates me.

It could have gone worse, though, as far as first meetings go. I mean, we could have been attacked by ninjas!

On second thought, that might have actually been a step up, sadly.

Ugh…Kouta…I want…to hug you, and never let go.

I touched him, though! I can't believe it! This is absolutely the best day of my entire life!

We followed him, wading through the knee-deep sewage

The other girls appeared to be just short of absolute ecstasy, if the huge smiles on their faces were any indication. It was understandable, since most had never been in the outside world.

As for me, my head and body just hurt madly…and I felt much more hopeless about my chances at a life with Kouta than ever before. I kept up the rear, thusly, keeping my aching eyes on the head of navy blue hair far in front of me. There was a lot I wanted to talk with him about…clearly several things had occurred to Kouta since the last time I'd seen him. But I didn't know if those were things that he'd want to talk about, especially with a beat-up, violated piece of garbage like me.

Every so often, the tunnel would shake menacingly, pebbles dribbling from the ceiling. The place seemed to be somewhat structurally unsound. I hoped the bombs from the battle above didn't get too out of control and cause the sewer to cave in.

So far, however, they seemed to have either forgotten about our escape attempt, or had lost us, since we'd had no sign of troops here. I chose to be optimistic about our chances, so I could keep going with SOME hope about the future.

I suddenly saw the mass of Diclonius girls stop moving. Was it the end? What was going on?

I stood up on my tiptoes to see what had caused Kouta to halt.

My throat dried up at what I saw; three men in those vibrating Samurai suits stood, swords raised, facing our group.

* * *

**A/N:** And that's the end of Chapter 1! Thanks for reading, and be sure to review and tell me your thoughts about where you'd like things to go from here! I have ideas, but they're not set in stone yet.

I'll take any criticisms that you'd like to level at me, as well! Too dramatic? Not serious enough? Too canonically blasphemous? I'd love to hear it.

Thanks!


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